This invention generally relates to equipment for physical therapy and/or general exercise. More particularly, this invention relates to a recumbent exercise machine which provides for the exercising and strengthening of major muscle groups in addition to cardiovascular conditioning. In so doing, the present invention includes lower body exercising coordinated with upper body exercising.
Patients undergoing physical therapy, whether at home, in the hospital or in another clinical setting, have special needs when it comes to physical therapy equipment. Often, the patients have limited mobility, age related illnesses, decreased ranges of appendage movement, disabilities, low endurance and need for therapy with respect to more than one particular movement or muscle group. All of these factors must be taken into consideration when designing or providing equipment for their use.
Those people who exercise for its many health benefits, and not specifically for rehabilitation purposes, typically desire equipment which is challenging, safe, fun, effective, convenient and which provides a benefit to a multiple number of muscle groups so that a total body workout is achieved in a relatively short period of time. When the equipment is for home use, other important considerations include durability and cost.
Numerous types and varieties of physical therapy and exercise equipment are available for both clinical and home use. Of the many types, two of the most popular include the stepping machines (hereinafter "steppers") and the stationary bicycles. Each of these machines, however, has certain limitations concerning their ease of use, range of movement, safety, the muscle groups worked and their cost.
Generally, steppers include a pair of pedals which move up and down, thereby simulating the climbing of steps, in response to the weight and physical effort of the patient or exerciser (hereinafter "user"). The pedals are connected to a mechanism which applies a resistance or load. This resistance is often adjustable so that the stepper can accommodate users of various levels of physical conditioning and ability.
One limitation of steppers is that the user is typically required to stand during the exercise. Since the user is in an upright position, a significant amount of balance and coordination on the part of the user is required. Because of the decreased mobility and coordination, this may prevent a patient undergoing physical therapy from using the stepper. A related limitation of the stepper is that it requires continuous close supervision when being used by a person undergoing physical rehabilitation. Close supervision by a physical therapist or assistant is required to ensure that the patient does not collapse or otherwise lose balance and fall from the stepper resulting in an injury. A further limitation of the stepper is its lack of exercise or conditioning of the upper body of the user. Finally, steppers may elevate the heart rate and the blood pressure too quickly for unconditioned and elderly patents, potentially causing harm.
One limitation of stationary bicycles is that the seat is typically a narrow saddle seat positioned above a pair of rotatable pedals having a fixed range of motion. The rotation of the pedals is resisted by a brake or other resistance mechanism. The user is required to lean forward to hold onto a set of handles, which may be stationary or movable. In order to use a stationary bicycle, the user must be capable of climbing up onto the seat and must possess sufficient strength, balance and coordination to maintain themselves on the narrow seat while pedaling over a fixed range of motion and manipulating the handles if they are of the moveable variety. Often the elderly, overweight or physical therapy patient cannot use a stationary bike because of the above requirements and further because they require constant supervision by the physical therapist to prevent possible injury to the patient upon collapse or loss of balance.
As can be seen from the above discussion, there is the need for an apparatus which allows the user to easily get on and off the apparatus with or without assistance. Furthermore, the apparatus should provide a high degree of stability and safety to the user so that the user can manipulate the machine without constant attention or supervision. Additionally, the apparatus should be adjustable to accommodate users of the significantly different sizes and physical conditions while still being comfortable.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes the limitations of the known prior art. In so doing, a further object of this invention is to provide a recumbent apparatus which can be easily mounted and dismounted by a user having a limited amount of mobility, with or without the assistance of another person.
The present invention also has as one of its objects providing an apparatus which uses a stepping or oscillating arcuate motion to provide a lower body workout or therapy. A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which uses an oscillating arcuate motion to provide an upper body workout or therapy.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus which is familiar to use and which simulates the coordinated arm and leg movements used during walking or running. To this end, the invention also has as one of its objects providing upper body exercise which is diagonally coordinated with lower body exercise.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a physical therapy and exercise apparatus which is easy to use, has adjustable resistance levels, is durable and which is relatively inexpensive to produce.
In achieving the above objects, the present invention provides for a recumbent total body exercise apparatus. The apparatus includes pedals which undergo an oscillating or stepping motion. The pedals are contralaterally synchronized with handles that also undergo a oscillating motion providing the user with a total body conditioning workout.
Unlike common stationary bicycles where the user is positioned on a seat above the pedals, the present invention utilizes a recumbent seat which is horizontally displaced from the pedals. The seat itself is a full bucket style seat, including a seat cushion an a seat back, positioned at a normal chair height. This provides a safe, stable and familiar seating position for the user. When used during physical therapy, the stability of the seat assures the physical therapist or assistant that the patient can use the apparatus with only moderate supervision thereby freeing the physical therapist to attend to other patients or other duties.
The exerciser of the present invention is also provided with an open center region, immediately before the seat, having a low profile step-through design offering easy ingress and egress to the user. Thus, a patient with low mobility is not required to climb up onto the apparatus or raise a leg over a high center portion of a frame. Rather, the user can easily step over a low center height portion of the apparatus' frame and sit down as would be normally done in a chair.
Once seated, the position of the chair relative to the pedals can be adjusted, as well as the length of the handles relative to the chair, for the size of the particular user. The relationship and geometry of the chair, the pedals, the handles, and the position of the pivot for the handles and pedals is such that the movement of the user's arms and legs will be maintained in a correct biomechanical relationship or form. The maintenance of proper form ensures efficient conditioning in addition to a comfortable exercising or therapy position.
During use of the apparatus, the pedals and handles undergo their coordinated movement against a resistance force provided by one of the variety of known resistance mechanisms. The level of resistance provided by the resistance mechanism is adjustable to accommodate users of all fitness levels. Also, the resistance mechanism may be electronically controlled to produce a resistance pattern representing a therapy or workout cycle of varied physical difficulty.
Additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates from the subsequent description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.